Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 05: Israel Adesanya of Nigeria poses on the scale during the UFC 259 weigh-in at UFC APEX on March 05, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 05: Israel Adesanya of Nigeria poses on the scale during the UFC 259 weigh-in at UFC APEX on March 05, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Israel Adesanya is just three years into his UFC career, but has built one of the strongest resumes in the sport. He has beaten a lot of top Middleweight contenders on his way to the Middleweight title. One of those Middleweights was Marvin Vettori, who Izzy beat via decision in his second UFC fight.
Vettori has had a career resurgence since that loss. The Italian fighter has won his four fights since and has entered the top-five of the division. His last win was an impressive short-notice showing against Jack Hermansson. He is going to face Darren Till in April in a presumed number one contender’s bout. Vettori has called Izzy out ahead of that fight.
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First they ignore you, second they discredit you, then they play games.
I live free rent in your head.
Soon you’ll have nowhere to run.
I’m waiting for you boy @stylebender pic.twitter.com/sgD7XH0Ip2— Marvin Vettori (@MarvinVettori) March 5, 2021
While the pizza meme is topical considering the weigh-ins, the motivation for this tweet was different. Izzy pretended to not know Vettori’s name on a show with Daniel Cormier, which has possibly set this tweet off. Adesanya also came out to say that he wants to face Darren Till in his next MW defense, directly hoping for Marvin to lose their April clash.
READ MORE: ‘Fought All Killers’- Darren Till Highly Praiseful of UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya: Will he get the same fight result in a rematch with Vettori?
Israel Adesanya beat Vettori in decisive fashion, but couldn’t get a KO. Considering Izzy has since KO’d the likes of Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa, that is very impressive from Vettori’s end. His rise after that loss has been fun to watch, but is he rushing into a possible rematch?
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 05: UFC interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya of New Zealand poses for the media during the UFC seasonal press conference at T-Mobile Arena on July 5, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
First, Vettori will most likely not be in title contention immediately after this. The winner of Costa vs Whittaker will be ahead of him in line, even if Marvin beats Till. Considering Till is the only top MW in this conversation to have never faced Izzy before, a win for him may help him jump the line.
It is odd while Izzy will pretend not to know the name of a fighter he beat and is a top contender in his division. It could just be one of those moments when a name escapes someone’s head. However, this could also be the beginning of some mind games by ‘The Last Stylebender’.
